Irish Flute Tunes

Hello. This site contains recordings I have made as a source of tunes for people who play the flute, or other instruments for that matter. They are just versions of tunes as I remember them. My memory isn’t the best so some of the versions and the titles might be a bit astray but hopefully they’ll be of some use. I’ve tried to play the tunes slowly first and then at a quicker pace so that they can be of use to a variety of players. I’ll keep recording more tunes whenever I get a chance. If there are days without new posts, that doesn’t necessarily mean I’ve given up. I’ll always get back in a while.

I usually play the tunes once through slowly to make them easier to learn, then I have a bit of a run at them to give another view of them. I hope this approach is OK. If anyone has any comments, or tune suggestions, please get in touch (iflute@googlemail.com). Thanks,

Michael.

(The tunes are split over a number of pages to stop the pages being too slow to load. To go to the next page, please click on Previous Entries at the bottom of the page, otherwise use the index on the left of the screen to navigate to a specific tune).

I can’t think of anything to write about this reel so

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I’ve finally got around to playing this one which I was asked to play ages ago. The second part has always been a bit of a mystery to me. I hope I haven’t made it even more of one with this effort. I think some of the notes are right and the order in which they appear is mroe or lses KO.

(This tune had a helium fit earlier. If it is still all Pinky and Perky tomorrow I’ll record it again. In the meantime I’d recommend slowdown software).

(26/01/2008 - I’ve rerecorded the tune now.  The only problem may be that I’ve forgotten some of it in the meantime).

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This is my recollection of a fairly common reel.  I was asked to record this one and I has taken me that long to do so that I can’t even remember when I was asked.  Maybe I wasn’t asked at all.  I think I have at least one other reel I’m meant to be putting on as well.  Once I improve the organisational state of my life even to the lower reaches of chaos I will do the other tune too.

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Here’s another Paddy Ryan’s Dream.  Mr. Ryan must have been some sleeper.

I think this one is close to the version that John Doherty used to call “Mooney’s Reel”.

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I was asked to record this which is a good thing as otherwise my memory wouldn’t have stumbled upon it. Now my mental recall has been provoked, I hope this is the same Reel of Rio that got lost in it years ago.

I don’t know what the “Rio” in question is. Maybe its just that the name sounds better that “The Reel of Lagan”.

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Here’s the one which comes after the one which I haven’t posted yet.  This one and the one which isn’t here are tunes from Fermanagh.

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Here’s another port gan ainm. Níl port le hainm fágtha agam faoin am seo.

I seem to have run out of names of tunes to post so I’m going to have to start ganning ainms for the next while.

I learned this jig from a piper who has an ainm - Robbie Hannan - but whose ainm for this jig escapes me just now. I was never sure just how the two parts of the tune got on with each other but sometimes I can sense an uneasy peace between them.

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This tune is also played as a reel with an extra bit thrown in. I’m sorry about the mess up at the end. I suddenly realised that I had seven minutes to finish the tune, upload it, write a comment, digest my dinner (I suspect that may actually take days) and catch the start of the film which appears to be the only thing on TV tonight.

I’ll try the reel version soon.

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Here’s a reel from my holidays.  I don’t play this very often so I hope my version has survived the years of neglect I’ve so lovingly administered to it. 

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Here’s a jig which I think is actually a single jig.  I don’t really understand all these different jig types so I’ll just play the notes and leave the counting to those better qualified than I am.  I think I first learned this tune from a book of the same name by Francie McPeake.  This version is probably a bit different but as I can’t find the book I can’t be sure.

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I can’t really see what particular use could be made of a golden keyboard apart from for naming a tune after.  It’s a while since I either heard or played this tune (apart from about 3 minutes ago) so I can’t guarantee that some keys on this particular board may be a bit more pig ironish than golden.

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Sorry it’s been so long since I posted a tune.  The last thing I can remember is thinking that I was getting seasonal amnesia  (I don’t rightly know whether Santa will be able to fit it down the chimney, though).  This tends to reduce the regularity of tune postings.

Here’s one anyway.  I’m not sure whether the title refers to the said mountain’s hue or to its being made of recycled hills.  It certainly can seem on occasions to be a fairly recyclable reel.  It’s a nice one all the same and helps flute players to believe that tunes aren’t all that hard after all.

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Here’s a jig I nicked off a record of Johnny Cronin and Joe Burke (that’s Burke with a beard and banjo rather than a beard and box).  The name is sometimes given to Father O’Flynn’s jig as well.

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(Thanks Bernie for telling me the name of this tune).

Here’s a reel which is as un-ainm-ated as I feel today having been at an over-crowded, over-priced and over-cooked Christmas (it’s barely even December) dinner last night. At least now it’s just an over dinner without a hyphen in pursuit.

Whatever about the name, I know enough about this tune to be able to say that I’m playing it in the key above its normal one. The present key is much easier on the flute than its G minor neighbour.

I have to go out into the rain now and listen to the shouts of the man who drinks beside the bus stop. He appears very placid in good weather but anticyclones seem to upset him. Hopefully the bus won’t be too long in arriving.

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Here’s my very belated response to a request to post this tune.  I hope late turns out to be better than never.

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